A hacker is believed to have obtained 60 risque images of Jennifer Lawrence which are now going viral. Photo: Getty Images

A hacker has reportedly obtained nude photos of a slew of female celebrities, including actor Jennifer Lawrence.

The anonymous source has 60 images of the 24-year-old star of The Hunger Games in various states of undress and has posted them on an online bulletin board, website The Hollywood Gossip reports.

The photos of Lawrence, some of which are topless, have since appeared on photo sharing site Imgur.

Model and actress Kate Upton.

Sports Illustrated favourite Kate Upton and Australian actress Teresa Palmer have also been targeted.

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Representatives for both Upton and Lawrence have confirmed the legitimacy of the photos.

"The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence," her spokesperson said.

Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

Upton's publicist also told website BuzzFeed they were "looking into this".

Actress Mary Winstead has also confirmed images of her have been stolen and leaked. However, she said on Twitter that she deleted the images now going viral some time ago.

"Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked," she said.

"You know what's better then leaked nudes? Earning the trust and respect of another human to the point that they share their body with you."

A master list supposedly containing the names of all the hacked celebrities has also been doing the rounds online, and includes Upton, Friday Night Lights star Amber Heard and Nickelodeon actress and singer Victoria Justice.

To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves. — Mary E. Winstead (@M_E_Winstead)
August 31, 2014

According to BuzzFeed, the hacker accessed the photos thanks to an iCloud leak that allowed the celebrities' phones to be hacked.

Victoria Justice was quick to jump on Twitter and hose down the rumours.

"These so called nudes of me are FAKE people. Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*," Justice tweeted.

Other celebrities affected have yet to comment, and for now the rest of the photos are unverified.

Reports in the US suggest the phones and computers of celebrities were hacked over the weekend as a form of extortion as the photos are available for sale in exchange for Bitcoins.

Authorities have been cracking down on hacking and phone tapping, especially in Hollywood. A man in Florida was arrested recently after he released nude images of Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis after hacking a number of celebrity email accounts for more than a year.

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton published the uncensored images of Lawrence and Price but has since deleted them. He has even deleted the censored versions with which he replaced them.

"I acted in haste just to get the post up and didn't really think things through. I'm sorry," he said.

"Upon further reflection and just sitting with my actions, I don't feel comfortable even keeping the censored photos up. I am removing them."

At work we often have to make quick decisions. I made a really bad one today and then made it worse. I feel awful and am truly sorry. — Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton)
August 31, 2014